The Republic of Srpska

Police Director of the Republic of Srpska, Mr. Darko Ćulum, said that the Republic of Srpska and BIH had ability and capacity to fight against illegal arms trafficking, but that a large amount of arms left from war was still an issue. After the official opening of the workshop whose topic is ‘’ International Police Cooperation in Fighting Against Illegal Arms Trafficking‘’, he said that the cooperation in this field between the Ministry of the Interior, and European countries and countries form the region had been successful for many years. ‘’In the last five years, the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior has implemented 40 operative actions on countering organized crime and illegal arms trafficking in which around 2,000 semi-automatic and automatic weapons were seized, as well as around 1,800 guns and 1,800 explosive devices’’, Director Ćulum explained. According to him, the aim of two-day workshop, organized by the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior and the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX), was to strengthen the police cooperation in fighting against international organized crime, especially regarding the illegal arms trafficking and its impact on the current security situation in the EU and the Southeast European region. Mr. Ćulum encouraged citizens to hand over the illegal arms, noting that the gun amnesty was in force until the New Year, which meant that they would not be sanctioned. The representative of the Republic of Croatia Ministry of the Interior, Mr. Mihael Šprajc, said that the results of these workshops were mostly reflected in operative actions and criminal investigations. He pointed out that it was well-known that arms in region were smuggled through existing channels to Western Europe, and that weapon black market was present in every single city in Europe. ‘’Arms may be bought in BIH for a small amount of money, and certain profit is made by smuggling arms into Western Europe. The cooperation of border police agencies exists and is improved on daily basis’’, Mr. Šprajc pointed out.